The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a resonant opto-mechanical accelerometer and, more particularly, to a resonant opto-mechanical accelerometer for use in navigation grade environments.
At least some known accelerometers have been developed on micro-electro-mechanical systems (“MEMS”) architectures. Some of these accelerometers may include a proof mass mounted on a piezoelectric substrate. As the proof mass experiences a change in acceleration, the proof mass compresses the piezoelectric substrate to generate an output current proportional to the acceleration of the proof mass. Other known accelerometers may include a deformable optical resonator that is compressed, like a piezoelectric substrate, when a proof mass coupled to the optical resonator experiences a change in acceleration.
Many such accelerometers have demonstrated high performance for targeting and inertial applications through the use of temperature postcompensation at accelerations of approximately one μg, where one “g” corresponds to the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface and is approximately equal to 9.806 m/s2. However, such accelerometers may not be well suited to service under certain environmental conditions and may not exhibit a dynamic range of operation suitable for use with some inertial navigation systems.